2002 Gujarat riot perpetrators were 'taught a lesson': Amit Shah
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah claimed on Friday that many anti-social elements were involved in the 2002 Gujarat violence as the Congress party previously supported them. However, all such activities were stopped after the perpetrators were "taught a lesson" in 2002, and the BJP ensured "permanent peace" across the state since then, the BJP leader said.
Why does this story matter?
The 2002 Gujarat riots witnessed a three-day inter-communal violence. Fifty-eight Hindu pilgrims and Karsevaks returning from Ayodhya were killed on February 27, 2002, in Godhra as their train was set on fire, which reportedly triggered the violence. After the initial riots, violence broke out in Ahmedabad over the next three months. Cases of violence against the minority Muslim community were also reported in 2003.
Shah claims perpetrators received backing from Congress
Shah also alleged that Gujarat witnessed riots in 2002 as the perpetrators, who were backed by the grand old party, had become used to indulging in such violence. The minister's remarks came while addressing a rally on Friday in Mahudha town of Gujarat's Kheda district in support of BJP candidates ahead of the Assembly polls next month.
'Congress had strengthened its vote bank through riots': Shah
"During the Congress rule in Gujarat (before 1995), communal riots were rampant. Congress used to incite people of different communities and castes to fight against each other," the Union minister alleged while addressing the rally. "Through such riots, Congress had strengthened its vote bank and did injustice to a large section of the society," Shah added.
Shah thanks PM Modi for abrogation of Article 370
"They (perpetrators) refrained from indulging in violence from 2002 till 2022. BJP has established permanent peace in Gujarat by taking strict action against those who used to indulge in communal violence," Shah stated. He also thanked PM Narendra Modi for the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and claimed Congress was not in support of this, too, due to its "vote bank."
The upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections
The Gujarat polls are set to be held in two phases: December 1 and 5. The state is set to witness a three-way contest between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Congress, and the ruling BJP. Meanwhile, the AAP and BJP are also facing off in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls on December 4. The AAP has campaigned aggressively, despite suffering setbacks earlier.
